— 2007 Season — Machias Seal Island lies along the Maine and New Brunswick border and is the largest puffin and razorbill colony in the Gulf of Maine. The island is surveyed every two years for nesting seabirds. In 2004, we documented 2,158 Arctic and 1,006 common tern nests, at least 3,500 pairs of Atlantic puffin, 560 pairs of razorbills, and 136 pairs of common eider. Unfortunately, a combination of adverse weather events and a lack of herring to feed the chicks resulted in total nesting failure in 2005. In 2006, gull predation became a significant problem on the island. Although the crew counted 904 Arctic and 213 common tern nests during the census period, all the nests were abandoned shortly after the census. They concluded an additional 1,700 tern nests had been predated prior to the census. No terns nested on the island in 2007. The Atlantic Cooperative Wildlife Ecology Research Network has been conducting seabird research on Machias Seal since 1995. Many graduate projects have been conducted on the island, including projects that have focused on survey methodology for razorbills, use of seabirds as indicators of commercial fisheries of herring, time activity budgets for terns, and an Arctic tern metapopulation study. Several commercial tour boat operators visit the island and bring a limited number of tourists ashore. A series of blinds are provided for the visitors to observe the nesting birds. They allow for researchers to monitor the colony when visitors are not present. The ownership of the island is disputed between the United States and Canada. According to Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service administers the island. According to the United States, Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife administers the island. The Service has a memorandum of understanding with MDIFW to manage the island. |